CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Surveillance video was released Tuesday of a stabbing that happened on a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus in November 2023. The video was shared by CATS after a request was submitted.
The stabbing happened on Nov. 1, 2023, on Bus 2675. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said at the time a fight broke out between two passengers as the bus was traveling on East Sugar Creek Road, ending with the male suspect passenger stabbing the other person. The department had previously shared a set of photos of the suspect and asked for the public's help in finding him.
In the video, one man stands up and approaches the passenger who is in his seat. The man takes a sharp object out of his pocket which appears to be a knife as he gets closer to him and then threatens him. The man then begins to stab the victim. The victim was stabbed five times while trying to defend himself from the attacker. Meanwhile, riders are trying to keep their distance and watching in horror.
“I think it is outrageous,” CATS rider Tahira said. “It’s crazy. That should not be happening.”
Witnesses said the victim made his way off the bus and then collapsed to the ground. He was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.
Some riders said acts of violence like this are why they are always on alert.
“I just pay attention to my surroundings because anything can happen at any time,” rider Curtis Wise said. “So precautionary measures I take is to stay focused.”
That incident marked at least the sixth violent crime within a six-month period that happened on or near CATS property. In August 2023, an off-duty security officer was assaulted on another bus along Briar Creek Road. A fight in May 2023 led to another stabbing, this time in a streetcar on the system's Gold Line.
A shooting on a CATS bus in May 2023 added to the tally of violent incidents, this time in an argument between a passenger and the bus driver. CATS said the passenger aimed at the driver, who also pulled out a gun on the passenger. They ended up shooting each other. In April 2023, a 60-year-old bus driver was assaulted at the intersection of Ashley Road and Tuckaseegee Road.
Violence on Charlotte's public transit system has been under the microscope since February 2022, when a man was accused of shooting and killing CATS bus driver Ethan Rivera in an apparent fit of road rage. The transit system, along with city leaders and CMPD, has vowed to find meaningful measures to boost driver and passenger security.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.